


In the shadows

by pixiedurango



Series: Richard Armitage - Sensual Visual Prompts [18]
Category: Richard Armitage - Fandom, The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), thorin oakenshield - Fandom
Genre: Dwarf/Human Relationship(s), F/M, Post BotFA, Secret Relationship, everyone lives au, non dwarf female character - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-09-30 00:38:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17213867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pixiedurango/pseuds/pixiedurango
Summary: After surviving the battle of the five armies, Thorin took his rightful place as King under the Mountain. People expect him to marry and produce an heir. But nothing happens. Which leads to the wildest speculations. The truth though... is totally different. And bittersweet.





	In the shadows

**Author's Note:**

> This belongs to a collection of prompts I opened up for my followers on tumblr to choose a character portrayed by Richard Armitage and a collection of sensual/sexy gifs I put together merely for this purpose.  
> After the tumblr purge many of the stories got banned/deleted/hidden which I assume due to the nature of the gifs since the stories itself are rarely really explicit.  
> This is why I eventually decided to transfer my works to my Ao3 which I didn't do for the sheer number of Fandoms/Shows/Characters those stories belong to. My admiration for Richard Armitage let me write all those stories and I hope people will like it.  
> The gifs will be posted along with the stories so readers might decide whether I caught the spirit or not.

Everyone had thought it only is a matter of time. The king’s injuries should have been terminal but if nothing, Thorin son of Threin, son of Thror, king under the mountain was even  stubborn when it came to clinging to his life and no matter what the healers said behind closed doors it was as if he was defying expectations just for the cause of defiance. And so he recovered when no one would have put a copper on his life.

He recovered along with his nephews Fíli and Kíli. They all wore their scars from the battle of the five armies but the sons of Durin were a stubborn pack even when it came to dying.

Once he had been almost back to his old form, Thorin Oakenshield sat through the official coronation with a unmoved face and ever since he had claimed back his royal duties one by one. Determined with an iron fist to those who deserved it but just with those who were in need. Dragon sickness had taught Thorin some hard but necessary lessons and he tried t live up to what he had learned along the way. A merciless negotiator he surely was when it came to the interests of his kin and he surely made his ancestors proud.

He gained back his warrior skills alongside with his health and never missed a training, never shied away from sparring, always eager to improve. He needed to be able to defend his kingdom and he knew his people would follow him, if needed. But he hoped and prayed for peace as any sane and thoughtful leader would.

Thorin was a good king but soon people began to worry. Because that’s what people did.   
Why didn’t he choose a queen? He needed to find a One to court and make sure the line of Durin would prevail.  
  
But no matter how many honorable and beautiful dwarrodams were shoved into his direction, he never seemed interested or wanting to do what was expected, needed from the king under the mountain.

Gossip spread like wildfire but of course no one ever dared to speak louder than a whisper or let themselves be caught exchanging stories and legends of why the king might not want to be interested in finding a queen.

Rumors of all kinds made the round and one of Fíli’s and Kíli’s favorite thing was going around in disguise, collecting them all and at some point everyone guessed that those two scallywags were the source of some of the wildest ones, just for a good laugh.

Some said, the king might have lost some  _important parts_  during the battle so he would not be able to mate anyway. There were stories of a One that had died along the way. About a lost love, having left him to marry someone else. It had been heard of versions where Thorin had fallen for another dwarf, a human or a certain hobbit. Even for a highborn elf as some claimed to know. Though the latter was by far the most outrageous it all meant he would not be interested in any female whatsoever. Each and every single story was far from the truth.

But Thorin himself did nothing to silence the gossip and the rumors. He did what every confident monarch would do: He ignored all of them, even the ones that made him cringe inwardly, but he never ever lost a word about any of them. But he also did nothing of what his kingdom, even his closest confidants, expected him to do.

The truth remained hidden in the shadows.

Every once in a while, the royal chambers lay dark and abandoned at night and only a very few dwarfs were able to connect the dots that it tend to happen whenever a tiny cheeky owl was seen to enter the kingdom of Erebor, flying directly into the throne room, patiently waiting until the king would find her and take her with him. His wrath would hit everyone who tried to chase or catch the little owl and so soon no one ever tried again.

Balin and Dwalin for sure knew the sign and probably Kíli and Fíli, too. They all knew the owl and whom she belonged to. But no word would ever cross their lips as this was Thorin’s and Thorin’s alone.

~  ~   ~

The stables were one of the few places in Erebor which were not carved entirely in stone and had access to the outside world, to sunshine and wind through wooden hatches that could be opened to give the mounts and cattle some of the environment they needed to stay healthy. Still hidden and hardly to conquer because those stables were one of the best kept secrets of ll the kingdom, since they were one of the true weak spots of the stronghold’s fortifications.

At night they were quiet and warm, almost a cozy place, guards outside passing by only once in a while, mostly abandoned and filled with the soothing sound of ponies idly munching their hay and the cozy moo’s of sleepy cows and the soft sound of various hoofs rustling in the straw as they were shifting lazily in their rest. Some of the rams standing in there were making soft snoring noises as they slept and the domesticated boars seemingly never took a break from digging their snouts through what were mostly the leftovers of the royal kitchen.

Technically Thorin had no reason to be here and practically no one would have expected him here. But whenever he was visited by the tiny owl he came down here. Slowly walking through the nightly stables until he locked himself up in a store room back there in the darkest corner of the whole facility. A while ago he had brought a quilt to rest on. Wine was hidden under the straw and he never forgot to bring some treats. Fruits or nuts, sometime more exotic things, sweet and sugary that were offered to him from visitors of the court.

Sometimes he had to wait, sometimes she was already there. Waiting for him almost as impatient as he was and they barely ever spoke any words until their first passion was soothed. Hungry kisses, leather armor and royal garments almost ripped of and discarded to the floor without a second thought. Most of the time a fast and rough encounter, more often than not with her pinned against a wall or a wooden baulk, right there were they were standing. Having each other after weeks, sometimes months was always like keeping each other from drowning in despair and they always ever had to quench their carnal thirst first before they could think of words again.

Later they would lay down, close to each other, wrapped into his coat, the precious quilt under them to keep the straw from itching. Savoring the stolen hours and the love they had for each other.

Still there were never many words. They had talked so much during their travels and sometimes it seemed all had been said. She told him about the world outside. Provided him with valuable information but always at some point he would silence her with kisses.  
“You’re not here as a spy for debriefing Amrâlimê.” He sometimes had to remind her. “You’re here as my One. I missed you and I need you more than I need what you tell me about other kings and armies. More than I need my own kingdom and all the gold that lies beneath the mountain. You go and write Balin about political matters. I only want to know that you are alive and healthy and that you still love me.”

She wrapped herself closer around him. Having him say that she was his One made her proud and sad at the same time. She was human after all and she would have ceased long before he would even be considered an older dwarf. She always felt she needed to be the voice of reason since he was stubbornly clinging to his decision to court and to love her.

And that she so dearly loved that broody stubborn dwarf back made not easier.

“I’m sorry Thorin. I know time is precious and shall not go to waste by talking politics when we only can be together like this.” She mumbled against his warm skin with the steady slow heartbeat underneath.

“You know it must not be like this.” He tried for a calm voice but some thunder roared deep within. “Come with me and be my queen, humans and dwarfs be damned for their gossip and prejudices!”  He wasn’t offering this for the first time but did not expect t get the answer he wished for. She had rejected his offer back then when she had been part of his company and they had finally realized that they had fallen for each other. And ever since she had never changed her mind and for good reason, he knew that.

And he was also right this time.  
“Thorin, love. You know I can’t. I belong to the wide open. I live and breathe the land and the sky. I need the sun and the plains, the forests and the seas.” It was the answer he had expected and still it made him sad like it did every time. And he knew that she was right. She was a ranger. Lived everywhere and nowhere in Middle Earth and would never be able to move into a mountain to barely see the sun. She would wither like a flower without water and no matter how much he loved her he would never demand that of her. As long as she was always coming back to share what they could he made a deal with himself to live through it because he wouldn’t inflict anything on her that she would come to hate.

“I know,  Amrâlimê, I know.” He was sad and had no fear to show it. “I apologize for never stop prying. But I never beg. You know that and I won’t even make an exception for you my love. But always know, if you ever decide to change your mind. Now or in many years from now… I’ll be here and waiting.”

The second time always was warm and slow and intimate. No ravishing each other, but savoring. Truly being with each other, renewing the unspoken oath to be each other’s One. Making love,  now and forever.


End file.
